How to Add Value in Your eLearning Projects

I have been fortunate enough to work with some awesome professionals who share my passion for impacting human performance through expert eLearning. When discussing the process there is a set of shared values or principals that govern workflow that we embrace. Whether you are just a beginner or have years of experience this short list of “to-do’s” will help ensure the desired outcome when undertaking a eLearning project.

1. Confidence. – get off to a good start by adding immediate value
   This is normally overlooked. It can often be daunting knowing where to start. Make sure any eLearning courses you develop are based on actual training needs and staff or client feedback. Often you need to convince your bosses of the value of eLearning, so let this idea be your initial guide – "Start small but think big." What I mean here is that bosses are impatient. They want quick results, so identify a key training need and tackle it promptly. Even a small win is important, and it may be your most important win. It shows your sponsors and decision-makers what can be done and builds the confidence to reach for bigger projects. Don’t forget to celebrate your first success!
   
2. Measure for Compliance
   Before you begin, make sure you fully understand your company or client’s measurement needs and how these can be met. In a formal eLearning course where crucial policies, procedures or skills are taught, often the learner’s knowledge gained has to be measured and recorded. Typically, this measurement is done through quiz type questions and it is best having your courses uploaded to your LMS (Learning Management System) so the answers provided can be recorded within it for later review and analysis. An LMS is crucial if you have a large number of learners to support.
   
3. Less is always More
   Reading from screens is not always easy as more of us use smart phones and tablets to access online courses. Use larger font sizes and less text to keep things simple. Let me provide an example. Instead of trying to explain the steps involved in using a software feature by using 5 paragraphs or multiple slides, use a short video instead. Video clips should not exceed 2 minutes duration, as attention spans are short. Provide information in bite-sized chunks that are easy to skim read and even easier for your learners to recall. Chunking is a critical skill that can’t be overlooked in importance.
   
4. Boring is Good
   Always make sure that your lesson content is consistently branded and visually appealing. Templates are a safe bet and save you time on repetitive tasks like adding logos, menus and navigation icons. Don’t be tempted to overcomplicate your course just because the software has lots of bells and whistles. Always ask, “How does this feature add value for my learners?” Keep in touch with what’s important to the intended audience.
   
5. Work Smarter, Not Harder
   Ensure that you capture and re-use multimedia clips and clever interactions by adding these to your existing software library folders. Video clips and course titles can be grouped and added to your library assets for easy retrieval. Typically, these are used for welcome and closing screens. Course pages containing clever animations using motion paths can be saved too, and these again can be re-used, saving you tons of time and effort. Get organized, adding useful items to a cloud storage service so you can work from multiple devices and locations makes things easier.
   
6. Encourage Constructive Review
   It can be tough when you are developing a course. It may involve subject content that you or your team are unfamiliar with or know nothing about. Thankfully, it is now easier to get expert review and information you might need. Make sure you upload draft content at a very early stage for peer review and subject-expert feedback. I normally start with the basic design layout to get agreement on colors, navigation, menus and course structure. List terminal and enabling objectives clearly so course flow is readily understood. Upload your course to a shared drive or cloud storage and invite the subject experts to review your progress.
   
7. Size Really Does Matter – Sweat the details
   Make sure your courses and/or videos fit within the display resolutions of the devices being used by your learners. Not sure where to begin? Check your Google Analytics data and it will reveal the display resolutions being used by your viewers. For most eLearning courses 1024x768 pixels seems to still be a safe bet so it can be viewed on most tablet devices too. The best eLearning development tools offer responsive design and an adaptive player that will re-size content to fit the device screen size being used.
   
8. Content is Always King
   Eye-candy courses look good, but valuable and relevant content will always gain the plaudits. Make sure your content is easy to grasp – short text blocks, larger font sizes and greater use of video and images – to help your learners acquire knowledge more quickly. Video content can be uploaded to YouTube and then embedded within your course pages. Make sure to add social media icons too, so that your content can be shared with a wider audience if required.
   
9. Personalize your Course
   This all depends on the nature of the course and the role that you play. In courses where you are recognized for having unique knowledge or play a pivotal role, it can help provide reassurance and trust in you – the expert! From past experience members of my audience tell me they prefer it, as my short video explanations explain concepts and models in simple language and often make it easier for them. You can either use webcam video or provide your key bio information in the Presenter menu on the player.
   
10. Learning Journeys Never End
    Think about the needs of your learners and the tools and further help they might require to apply what you have taught them. Within your course player provide links to additional content, other websites or further courses to help them learn faster and easier. Also make use of slide notes to provide additional information or explanations of key points.